Global Mission Event Stresses Church Role in Poverty, Disease Battles

Lutherans and Episcopalians emphasised their commitment to the eradication of global poverty and the combating of disease as the 2006 Global Mission Event came to a close on Sunday.

"God is in the slums; God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war," U2 lead singer Bono said in a video message. "One of things I'm most proud of in my life now is to see the church work for justice as well as charity."

Bono is a leading frontman for the ONE Campaign of which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal Church, USA, are supporters of. The two denominations had affirmed their partnership at the four-day conference in Amherst, Mass., where some 1,300 people from around the world convened.

Serving as a co-sponsor of the GME, the Episcopal participation was a testament to the strong relationship that exists between the two churches, according to the Episcopal News Service. The two church bodies had entered into a "full communion" relationship in 2001 on the basis of the document "Called to Common Mission."